The Museum of Natural History recently held a special training on "Identification and Preservation of Pests of Stored Products" for five researchers of the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) based in Munoz, Nueva Ecija last 7-8 December 2017. The participants were from the Food Protection Division of PHilMech: Mia V. Dela Cruz, Luther A. Lacanilao, Vicky G. Mesa, Jackielyn P. Ponce, and Benny P. Roderos

Most often, stored products pests are insects which can cause contamination thereby making the goods unmarketable or lower in value. Because the economic significance of stored product pests highlights the need to collect and identify them properly, the training focused on the identification of different insects thriving in stored products and the demonstration and practice of various preservation techniques for display and voucher specimen collection.

The Museum of Natural History served as the partner of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) in a learning event held last 20-24 November 2017 in Alaminos City and Mabini, Pangasinan.

The partnership enabled the fruitful conduct of the Learning Event on Cave Biodiversity Assessment for 29 DENR field officers coming from various regions of Luzon. The participants were from DENR Regional Offices 1, 2, CAR, 3, 4A, 4B, 5, and NCR; Palawan Council for Sustainable Development; and the BMB Central Office.

Known for having the largest mossy-pygmy forest in the country, Mt. Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental is recently lauded for its remarkable ant diversity. Officially named Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, the mountain as been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014.

MNH researcher David Emmanuel General and his colleague Mr. Perry Archival Buenavente from the Philippine National Museum recently published an updated checklist of ants found in Mt. Hamiguitan. This includes 13 species that are newly recorded in the Philippines. The researchers collected a total of 1,677 ants belonging to 51 genera and 8 subfamilies. Since this was the researchers' first systematic transect study of the locality, most of these records represent the first records for Mt. Hamiguitan.

Ten curators and staff of the UPLB Museum of Natural History were among the invited experts in a consultation workshop to refine the methods for assessing biodiversity in urban ecosystems organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) and AVILON Wildlife Conservation Foundation, Inc. in Rodriguez, Rizal last on 20-22 September 2017.

Among the experts who reviewed the methods for different taxa include Prof. Phillip A. Alviola, Prof. Judeline C. Dimalibot, and Mr. James Alvarez for mammals; Dr. Ireneo L. Lit, Jr., Dr. Sheryl A. Yap, Mr. Cristian C. Lucanas for arthropods; Dr. Leticia E. Afuang for amphibians and reptiles; Dr. Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez for birds; and Prof. Pastor L. Malabrigo, Jr., and Dr. Nelson M. Pampolina for flora.

Entomologists from the UPLB Museum of Natural History's Entomological Collection gave the institution a new source of pride after their newest paper describing new species of mites was released a day before the Museum's 41st anniversary.

Led by Curator emeritus Dr. Leonila A. Corpuz-Raros, the group, which also includes budding acarologist Jeremy Carlos B. Naredo and technician Rufino C. Garcia, was able to describe four new species of predatory mites belonging to the subfamily Coleoscirinae (family Cunaxidae) in a paper published in the longest running journal dedicated to acarology, Acarologia.

In a historic, first-ever event, more than 150 individuals from more than a hundred institutions across the country gathered at the University of the Philippines for the Culture+Learning, Art+Design, Environment+Science (CLADES) Summit last 27-28 September 2017.

The CLADES Summit tackled concerns on culture, learning, art, design, environment and science in relation to natural history museums and collections in the Philippines. It was organized by the UPLB Museum of Natural History in celebration of its 41st anniversary which falls on 30 September.